Union
Station glows in the pre-dawn light in Los Angeles
on November 5, 2013. Opened in 1939, it is one of
the last of the great train stations and stands as
an architectural icon of Los Angeles and the west.

LOS
ANGELES — Many movies have been shot at Los Angeles
Union Station. But none can match the one you start
filming in your head the moment you arrive from Alameda
Street.

You
fade in on the feet of a trendy young commuter, ear buds
in place, rushing along the well-buffed tiled floor. The
camera tilts up to reveal a homeless man dozing in one of
the station’s original leather-and-mahogany armchairs.
You see a high, heavy chandelier, a grand arch, beams,
stencil work.

It’s
a star in its own right, this building — a strange,
graceful L.A. marriage of Spanish Colonial and Streamline
Moderne styles — born in 1939, the last of the great
American train stations. After a dismal slog through the
late 20th century, Union Station is busier than ever, with
about 10 times the traffic it had in its prosperous early
years. Chances are it will soon be busier.

If
you do your traveling by car and plane, you haven’t seen
the station in years, haven’t harnessed your inner
Hitchcock, haven’t wondered where to hand off the
mysterious suitcase, where the adulterers get down to
business, where to stage the murder.

To
the right, where the pay phones once were, you’ll find
the Traxx bar, ripe for eavesdropping.

Just
across the arcade, you have the station’s original
restaurant, a Harvey House designed by Southwestern
architect Mary Colter. It’s been closed (except for film
shoots and special events) for decades.

To
the left, you can lean on a movable counter left over from
either a "Night Court" TV shoot or a "Blade
Runner" movie shoot, depending on whom you ask. And
from there you see the station’s enormous and idle
ticket concourse, suitable for occupation by the Phantom
of the Coast Starlight.

Los
Angeles Times photographer Mark Boster and I prowled the
station for several days recently to finish our yearlong
series on iconic locations, "Postcards From the
West." (You can see the first half-dozen at
latimes.com/postcards.) I was standing near the old ticket
concourse, trying to recall plot points of "Union
Station" (1950, starring William Holden) and
"Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid" (1982, starring
Steve Martin), when unscripted reality interrupted.

"My
wife’s had surgery!" an enraged Amtrak customer
yelled at a security guard. "What is this, a museum
or a ... transportation center? You guys are pathetic!
There’s no help!"

Grandeur,
grit, sepia light, flawed humanity — and that’s before
you even get to Wetzel’s Pretzels. That food stand turns
up, along with a sweet-smelling Subway, Starbucks, See’s
Candies, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and the convenience
shop Famima, in the jumbled departure area just beyond the
waiting room and before the long passage to the train
platforms.

This
is far more commercial life than the terminal saw from the
1960s to the ‘90s. Daily traffic is up to 60,000 to
75,000 commuters and travelers, depending on who’s
estimating. But as Metropolitan Transportation Authority
officials acknowledge, the departure area could use better
signage. (Amtrak and Metrolink do have motorized carts to
carry travelers who have a disability, but station signs
don’t make that clear or explain how to summon one.)

If
you walk down the long passage past the train platforms
and under the tracks, you reach the station’s east
portal, built in the 1990s. Your reward for roaming waits
above: a striking, 80-foot-wide multicultural mural of
L.A. faces by Richard Wyatt, with an olive-skinned girl in
a green blouse at center.

To
me, she’s Our Lady of the Trains. Above her, the sun
shines through a geometrically patterned skylight dome
that would fit right in atop a mosque in Qatar. Without
leaving the station, you’ve just traveled from one end
of the 20th century to the other.

Beyond
the station itself, things get tricky for a traveler, and
many are put off by its proximity to the 101 Freeway, the
county jail and the many panhandlers near Olvera Street.
But the resurgence of downtown Los Angeles has brought new
options beyond the usual Olvera Street shuffle. Walk
several blocks from the station — or take a one-stop
subway ride — and you can browse vintage vinyl and
contemporary art in Chinatown, drink a $12 Asian Zombie
under a string of lights in Little Tokyo or picnic on the
grass of well-tended Grand Park, just across the street
from City Hall.

Since
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bought Union
Station in 2011, plans are afoot for more changes. Ken
Pratt, Union Station’s director of property management,
said he has been courting prospective bar and restaurant
tenants for the Harvey House. In as little as 18 months,
Pratt said, "some inventive, eclectic, well-heeled
restaurateur is going to come in here and do something
marvelous."

Meanwhile,
the MTA this year added a red-coated passenger assistance
staff to answer questions. The MTA has also closed the
station to non-passengers between 1 and 4 a.m. to give
janitors more room and to discourage homeless people from
treating the station as base camp. In some not-so-historic
second-story space above Amtrak’s ticket sales window,
the rail line has quietly opened the private Metropolitan
Lounge for its business-class and sleeping-compartment
passengers.

In
public spaces, there will be more movie nights and more
live music, Pratt said, perhaps some artisan food services
at the east portal in the next year, perhaps another
restaurant in the now-idle space where Union Bagel once
operated.

In
the longer term, MTA executives are developing a master
plan that would preserve the historical structure but add
retail space, reroute the flow of bus traffic, allow for
the arrival of a bullet-train connection to San Francisco
by 2029 (if that costly, controversial project is
completed) and improve transitions between the station and
the neighborhood.

Executives
say the MTA may even buy and knock down the privately
owned Mozaic apartment buildings, an undistinguished
complex next door that was built in 2006.

"We
would be fine with that," said Adrian Scott Fine, Los
Angeles Conservancy advocacy director. As for the MTA’s
larger ambitions? "The devil will be in the
details."

But
these changes could be years away, and plenty of ambitious
Union Station plans have been floated and abandoned over
the decades. Instead of holding your breath, savor the
place as it is, grab one of those comfortable chairs,
watch the passenger parade and polish your second act.

For
instance, that "Night Court" / "Blade
Runner" counter in the vestibule? Definitely big
enough to hold a corpse.

———

KEEPING
TRACK OVER 7 DECADES

L.A.’s
Union Station, the "last of the great train
stations," has been moving people and freight for
more than seven decades.

May
1939: Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal opens, linking
the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroad
systems, which used to operate separate stations. To make
room for the new station, much of the city’s original
Chinatown was leveled. The station’s design, by the
father-son architect team of John and Donald Parkinson,
mixes Streamline Moderne and Spanish Colonial styles with
Moorish accents. The station’s first timetable lists 33
arrivals and 33 departures daily.

1940s:
Civilian traffic reaches an estimated 6,000 people a day.
During World War II, traffic is far greater as troops are
mobilized.

1950s:
As automobile and air travel increases, the station
becomes known as "the last of the great train
stations" in the U.S.

1966:
After decades of relying on trains, the Postal Service
shifts to using planes and buses. Passenger traffic
dwindles too.

1967:
The station’s slowest year, with just 15 trains in and
15 out a day.

1971:
Congress creates Amtrak to take over passenger service
from rail companies. At Union Station, passenger traffic
remains thin.

1992:
Catellus, a development company formed from real estate
holdings of the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads,
begins restoration of the station. Also, Metrolink begins
regional commuter rail service with Union Station as its
hub, carrying 5,000 passengers on its first day.

1993:
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority opens the first 4.4 miles of the Metro Red Line,
which will eventually connect Union Station to downtown
Los Angeles, Hollywood and North Hollywood.

www.metro.net/about/union-station)
is a hub for Amtrak, Metrolink regional commuter trains
and the Metro subway and light-rail system. It’s open 4
a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. If you want to dive deep into the
architecture and history of the station, join one of the
walking tours offered by the nonprofit Los Angeles
Conservancy ((213) 623-2489; www.laconservancy.org).
Tours begin at 10 a.m. the third Saturday of every month,
last 21/2 hours and cost $10 per adult.

www.cielitolindo.org),
a taqueria that dates to 1934. For $3 you get two beef
taquitos dipped in guacamole sauce. (Then browse Olverita’s
shop across the way at W-24.)

0.1
mile: Terminal Annex (900 N. Alameda St.), the station’s
hulking next-door neighbor, used to be the city’s main
post office. It has a great 1940 Mission Revival exterior,
but don’t get too excited about the inside. The lobby is
open to the public (except Sundays), but its Works
Progress Administration murals are smallish and
forgettable, and there’s little else to admire.

0.1
mile: If you need beer and barbecue, do head for Spring
Street Smoke House (640 N. Spring St.; (213) 626-0535,

www.sssmokehouse.com).
All the usual barbecue features are here: blues on the
stereo, ribs, sandwiches, beans and a generous beer list.
Main dishes generally $10.50-$25.95.

0.2
mile: Do belly up to the counter at Philippe the Original
(1001 N. Alameda St.; (213) 628-3781,

www.philippes.com).
Sawdust on the floor. Mobs at lunchtime. Knickknacks from
old L.A. on the walls. You’re supposed to order a French
dip sandwich here — because this might be its birthplace
— but I liked my French onion soup more.

0.3
mile: Do have a quick peek at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
(501 N. Main St.; (213) 542-6200,

www.lapca.org),
a free, well-appointed, museum-esque space that tells
local history from a Mexican American point of view with
multimedia displays. Open noon-7 p.m. Wednesdays-Mondays.
Closed Tuesdays.

www.homegirlcafe.org),
three blocks north of Union Station and across the street
from the Gold Line’s Chinatown station. Breakfasts and
lunches are up to $12. Closed Sundays. It’s a nonprofit
effort that trains at-risk young women and men for
restaurant work. Bright, pleasant dining room and an
arresting batch of black-and-white portraits near the door
that look a bit like mug shots. The cafe is part of
Homeboy Industries.

www.farbarla.com),
which hides in plain sight beneath a vintage sign that
says "Chop Suey Far East." Many hipsters;
popular bar. Global grazing menu (tacos, sushi, Korean
short ribs) and a bar menu that includes Asian Zombies for
$12. Pleasant patio in back with long wood tables, rough
brick walls, lights on strings.

www.starrykitchen.com,
www.grandstarjazzclub.com).
The pan-Asian comfort food is terrific (especially the
crispy tofu balls and Malaysian chicken curry). But leave
the kids at home; the dining room is a dimly lighted bar,
the soundtrack may include foul-mouthed rap and you may
— or may not — find the owner / host charming. Open
Wednesdays-Saturdays, dinner only.

www.miyakoinn.com).
Besides 173 rooms, it has a spa on the third floor, a
restaurant on the second and Cafe Take 5 off the lobby,
with sandwiches and salads up to $7.50. Rooms for two
$149-$199. Nice views from rooms on the 1st Street side.

0.8
mile: Do keep an eye out for open galleries along
Chinatown’s Chung King Road: There are six to 16 of
them, depending on how you count. Your odds are best on
weekends; some galleries are closed during the week. Most
of the work is highly contemporary, not Chinese. Fifth
Floor Gallery (502 Chung King Court; (213) 687-8443,

0.8
mile: For a hearty ham-and-eggs breakfast near the tracks,
do head for the horseshoe bar at Nick’s Cafe (1300 N.
Spring St.; (323) 222-1450,

www.nickscafe.net).
It dates to 1948 and stands across Spring Street from Los
Angeles State Historic Park. Breakfast and lunch daily, up
to $12.50. Eggs Benedict on weekends. Cash only.

1.5
miles: To see a local institution in the unlikeliest of
places, check out the San Antonio Winery (737 Lamar St.;
(323) 330-8715,

www.sanantoniowinery.com).
Since 1917, this family operation has been making wine
alongside the railroad tracks and the concrete-clad L.A.
River. Its Italian restaurant (cafeteria line, white
tablecloths, wine barrels lining the walls) gets busy at
lunchtime. Entrees up to $23.95. Tours daily.

1.6
miles: To break bread with working artists, do sneak off
to Barbara’s at the Brewery (620 Moulton Ave., No. 110;
(323) 221-9204,

www.barbarasatthebrewery.com)
for a casual boho lunch or dinner (entrees up to $15.95,
with good selection of wines and beers) amid the hundreds
of artist lofts at the Brewery Art Colony ((www.labrewery.com),
which opens for "art walk" tours twice a year.